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"Be Prepared" Those of us who had the privilege of being a boy or girl scout will recognize the motto: Be Prepared. Sometimes as adults we tend to forget the importance of those words. As a child I often wondered what I was supposed to be prepared for. Scout leaders sometimes mentioned being prepared with one’s lunch money, with clean underwear in case of an unexpected visit to the hospital, or even with homework in case of a pop quiz. Today as a professional writer, I try to be prepared for a telephone call from an editor. It has happened. It can happen again. More and more editors are contacting authors by telephone rather than by snail mail or e-mail. If you’ve sent out a few dozen queries concerning your yet-unpublished short story or novel, you’re surprise of the day may come in the form of a telephone call from an editor concerning your query. Rule One: Don’t faint. Rule Two: Don’t let that editor know that you feel overwhelmed by surprise. Respond as if you were expecting her/his call. Rule Three: Be prepared for questions. The editor may ask one of the following questions: Is your manuscript still available? How soon could you show me the complete manuscript? Tell me a bit more about the story plot? Tell me more about your story characters? Why did you choose to write on this subject? Questions one and two are easy enough to answer. But take care with answering question three—more about the story plot. Try to have a well-conceived answer to this question. Just what is your story about. Don’t stutter and stammer. It may help to have a written answer to the question typed out and pasted to your office wall near the telephone. Such a statement will come in handy many times when people in your home town ask what your next story or book is about. Try for 25 well-chosen words or maybe a few more. Those words should include a mention of the story setting, the occupations of the main characters, the protagonist’s problem. A similar statement concerning the story characters will also be helpful, and if you give it in a professional manner without ‘ers’ and ‘ands’ it will give you brownie points with the editor. Let her/him know that here is an author who’s sure of herself and who frequently has important telephone calls. The question about why you chose to write about this material also needs careful thought. Maybe if your protagonist is a ditch digger, you are drawing on your own expertise as a ditch digger. Or perhaps you did careful research on the ins and outs of ditch digging. As a writer you’ve probably often been advised to write about what you know about, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn new things and write about those things. BE PREPARED for an important phone call.. That may be one of the most important pieces of advice you’ll receive. BE PREPARED.
Dorothy Francis © 2006 |
